EST. 2009

TUFF WAX is proud to announce the launch of TUFF TRAX – our new free singles club with a ‘white label’ vibe, bringing you rarities, bootlegs, odds and sods and more on a monthly basis.

TTX-010: Chrissy Murderbot – Acid

Tuff Trax reaches double figures with an explosive and exclusive cut from Chicago stalwart Chrissy Murderbot. A celebrated DJ, producer and club music historian, Chris Shively has released music on Planet Mu, Hypercolour and his own Loose Squares imprint, home of the infamous ‘Escape From Chicago’ compilations whose 2nd volume features music by Tuff Wax bosses Bones & Money. After providing us with a huge rework of the gruesome twosome’s ‘Black Diamond’ in early 2013, Lockah returned the favour and contributed his own take on ‘Bay Bay’ to Shively’s Hyperboloid EP, ‘All Right’.

Aside from racking up an impressive discography under his Murderbot moniker including remixes and collaborations with the likes of Machinedrum, DJ Spinn, DJ Rashad, Teki Latex, Pixelord and others, he also recently explored house & disco leanings under the ‘Chris E Pants’ side project – establishing the Brooklyn-based Nite Owl Diner imprint along the way with friend Alex Burkat.

Away from his productions, Chrissy’s a feared & respected spinner too – perhaps best known for his insane ‘Year Of Mixtapes’ during which time he recorded and blogged a weekly new DJ mix to the world, spanning different themes, genres and eras in each one.

‘Acid’ is the definition of club ready and – of course – straddles a multitude of styles with typical Chrissy confidence. Thunderous drums, dancehall hooks, hoovers and reeses and everything else, juked up and ruff for the jungle. Enjoy!

TTX-009: Bones & Money – Merrick

TUFF TRAX returns with a classic cut from the vaults courtesy of label co-owners Bones & Money - 'Merrick' is pure raw Aberdeen Truth 1.0, filled with rugged claps, daring donks & a snarling bassline that rather belies their soft & caring nature.
The club godz Bones & Money have run all tings Tuff Wax alongside Lockah since early 2011, and have a wealth of material in store for 2014.
bonesandmoney.comsoundcloud.com/bonesandmoney

TTX-008: Treble Clef – Ghetto Kyote (Grobbie Remix)

Rounding off the year in style, December's TUFF TRAX sees Grobbie rework a classic grime anthem for 2013 - file under 'bootlegs', file under 'bangers'.
We'll be releasing more goodness from big G in 2014, but for now take a swing over to his Soundcloud & Bandcamp pages and take a look at the prolific producer's seemingly endless output!
grobbie.bandcamp.comsoundcloud.com/grobbie

TTX-007: Zubuntu – Los Alamos Wolves

Better late than never for volume 7 in the TUFF TRAX series! Keeping it in the close family this month, we deliver a hot new jawn from one of our most talented friends, Jamie Ferguson aka Zubuntu.
We first introduced Zubuntu's dark, stripped-down club mutations with the free single 'High Skool/Ruff Stuff' (still available here). Since then Jamie's honed his craft, earning him DJ mix requests from the likes of Liminal Sounds, bookings in Berlin and a reputation as an intense live act - most recently demonstrated during residency sets at Bake Haus, a monthly night run alongside fellow Aberdeen Truth-speaker ¥oin.
'Los Alamos Wolves' is more club heat from the rave cave with a nod to Bristolian bass, drenched in Zubuntu's signature trippy vocal drones & clocked with metronome-precise thug snaps.

TTX-006: Pixelord & Lockah – Aloe Diva

So, 6 months of TUFF TRAX has passed and we find ourselves once again revisiting some unheard Lockah related material from the vaults. A longtime fan of the Moscow-based musician, graphic designer, soundscape artist & Hyperboloid label owner, Lockah began collaborating with Pixelord in late 2012, creating music together under the now-shelved 404boyz name. 'Aloe Diva' saw a meeting of the minds from Aberdeen and Moscow and sounds like Planetarium music shoehorned into the club, where UFOs and LFOs alike battle against a backdrop of futuristic & industrial garage rhythms.
Pixelord /
Hyperboloid /
Lockah /
Tuff Wax

TTX-005: T_A_M – Roze (Strict Face Edit)

TTX-005 stays strictly in the 'now' for Tuff Wax as we recap on our latest release from Aberdeen new-jack T_A_M with a slick grime edit by one of our most anticipated forthcoming artists. Adelaide's Strict Face is busy prepping his debut release for us and has already been featured in the likes of FACT and Truants, regularly receiving spin from the grime stalwards such as Dusk & Blackdown and Slackk on RinseFM. He also recently provided production duties for tracks on successful mixtapes by the likes of Le1f and Cakes Da Killa.
We first welcomed Strict Face to our family with the inclusion of his epic, spaced out remix of 'Black Diamond' which kicked off our 2013 release schedule and is still available here - tuffwaxrecords.bandcamp.com/album/twx-0…nd-remix-ep
Stay tuned and follow both T_A_M and Strict Face for more news coming soon.

TTX-004: Moist Ghost – Foamy

Something new for July as we reach the fourth issue in our series - an original production from Sam Wilhoit, aka Atlanta's trippy & experimental electronic producer Moist Ghost.
A previous fringe member of Tuff Wax' extended global family, 2013 has seen Sam contribute a remix to our first release of the year (TWX-011, Bones & Money’s ‘Black Diamond’ Remix EP) and collaborate with Lockah for the ‘Higher Learning’ EP released on Activia Benz under the guise of Taste Tester, his club-orientated alter-ego.
We’ve been big fans of Sam’s work since his appearance on Astro Nautico’s Atlantics Vol.2 compilation, and we highly recommend a download of ‘Big Game Hunter’ his debut album released last year on the Brooklyn label. Fans should also stay tuned for news on our next release, featuring the man himself.

TTX-003: Bones & Money – Close (Grobbie Remix)

'Close/Anxious' caused a bit of a stir in early 2012 when it was released, resulting in unheard-of coverage for our then miniscule label and marking an explosive entrance onto the scene for Tuff Wax co-owners, Bones & Money.
The duo have since racked up an impressive list of releases and features, including their first 7" for Tuff Wax, a subsequent remix EP in which their material was tackled by the likes of Chrissy Murderbot and TUFF WAX founder Lockah, and standout mixes for Truants & Liminal Sounds.
Grobbie's dreamy, percussive remix was well known, but this previously unheard alternative rework remained a secret DJ weapon amongst the TUFF WAX fam. In the continued spirit of TUFF TRAX, we offer you this fine rarity. Enjoy!

TTX-002: Jaw Jam – Work It Out

Next up on TUFF TRAX - Jaw Jam gives away another classic-cut-in-the-making to celebrate his epic laser-etched vinyl release earlier in May. The EP marked a milestone for TUFF WAX as we moved into 12" territory for the first time and saw our music being stocked by some of the biggest specialist stores in underground music. This one's on the house though - enjoy!
Soundcloud /
Twitter

TTX-001: Lockah – Now U Wanna (Offshore Remix)

First up, a special piece of music which for a long time I wasn’t sure what to do with. Here’s an incredible remix that our friend Ewan Robertson aka Offshore did for me last year. This was originally planned to be included on ‘When U Stop Feeling Like A Weirdo & Become A Threat’ along with the original. We had spoken back and forth about putting it online but never found the time to just master it and get it out there. After Ewan’s sad passing & having spoken to his brother Neil, it just seemed like the right thing to do to give it away for all to enjoy.

Ewan was a real inspiration to us from day one, being a local guy who was a real success story in music and the arts. Despite us barely knowing each other when we first started chatting, he was so approachable and always took time out of his schedule to give us feedback and advice on our sometimes iffy early productions. We loved to hang out with him when he came home to visit his folks and we all miss him a lot. RIP mate.
- Lockah